1904 Delaugere et Clayette reaches pole position at $360,500

The 1904 Delaugere et Clayette came with entry to the Brighton Veteran Car Run

A little-known 1904 Delaugere et Clayette achieved the highest price in Bonhams' auction of Veteran Cars, which came just two daysbefore the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

The London to Brighton Run, which took place yesterday (November 4), is the world's longest running motoring celebration and sees 500 of the globe's finest pre-1905 cars head towards the UK coast. Bonhams' London auction (November 2)offered 15 cars which were eligible to compete in the event.

The little-known French brand modelled its earliest designs on those of Panhard

Delaugere et Clayette was a small French manufacturing company that beganin the mid-19th century. Its earliest experimentations with powered transport were modelled on Panhard bodies using Dion-Bouton engines.

The 24hp Type 4A in the sale represented a departure from the Panhard style, instead using a wood reinforced steel chassis frame. Having recently undergone a full restoration, it sold for 225,500 ($360,409) complete with an accepted entry into the November 4 run.

Also featuring was a 1904 Wilson-Pilcher four-cylinder Phaeton, which was built by Walter Wilson, the man who co-invented the first British Tank, Little Willie. The Irish-born engineer had originally began his career manufacturing his own cars, with the present example one of the few surviving examples.

The car had previously been housed in the British Tank Museum, as well as the Coventry Transport Museum, and requires "gentle re-commissioning" to make it road worthy again. It sold comfortably within its 180,000-220,000 estimate at 203,100 ($324,474).